Your eyes are still closed, but your bladder has other plans...
You throw yourself out of bed, stumble half-asleep into the bathroom, do your thing, and crawl back in. Ten minutes later, you’re tossing and turning because you can’t get back to sleep.
Sound familiar?
For many people, that’s just the night. Get up once, sometimes twice. They think it comes with the territory. That it’s age. That this is just how it is.
But that’s not true. Nighttime urination, also called nycturia is, in most cases, not something inevitable. It has causes, and those causes are often easier to address than you think.
Why you have to pee at night
Normally, your body produces less urine at night. A hormone called ADH, also known as antidiuretic hormone, signals your kidneys to let less fluid through at night. That way, you can sleep without being interrupted.
But that system can get disrupted, and then you produce too much urine at night when you should actually be sleeping.
What the causes are
Drinking too much in the evening is the most obvious one, but it’s not just how much you drink, it’s also what you drink. Caffeine and alcohol are both diuretics. They cause your kidneys to produce more urine than normal. A cup of coffee at four in the afternoon or a glass of wine at nine at night can already disrupt your sleep.
Sleep apnea is a less well-known but common cause. Every time your breathing stops during sleep, the pressure in your chest increases. Your heart interprets that as a sign that there is too much fluid in your body and tells your kidneys to make more urine. As a result, people with sleep apnea urinate significantly more often at night.
Mouth breathing also plays a role. If you breathe through your mouth, you dry out—your throat, your mouth, your mucous membranes. Your body tries to compensate by holding on to more fluid during the day, which in turn affects how your kidneys work at night. An easy way to stop mouth breathing during sleep is mouth tape. You place a strip over your mouth before sleeping, which makes you automatically breathe through your nose. You dry out less and your body has less need to compensate.
Stress and high cortisol levels disrupt ADH production. Your body stays in alert mode and, so to speak, forgets to switch to night mode.
What you can do
Stop drinking two hours before bed. Not completely, but consciously less. A large amount of fluid right before bed simply gives your bladder too much to handle.
Avoid caffeine after two in the afternoon. Caffeine stays active in your body for six to eight hours and keeps stimulating your kidneys long after you no longer feel the caffeine.
Go to the bathroom right before bed. Sounds obvious, but many people don’t do it consistently. An empty bladder before sleep gives your body the best chance of getting through the night.
Pay attention to your breathing. If you regularly wake up to pee and also snore or wake up tired, it’s worth looking into whether mouth breathing or sleep apnea is playing a role.
This week’s habit
This week, stop drinking two hours before bed and avoid caffeine after two in the afternoon. Go to the bathroom every evening right before you go to bed.
Seven days. See how many nights you sleep through without having to get up.
Every Night 1% Better.
Guy Veeke
PS. Mouth breathing at night is one of the causes of nighttime urination that most people overlook. Our mouth tape helps keep your mouth closed so your body stays better hydrated and your kidneys have to work less hard. Check out our mouth tape here: https://snoozeless.nl/products/mondtape
